A few days ago, director James Cameron became the first person to travel to the ocean’s deepest point in a solo dive. While not busy breaking his own box office records, Cameron was secretly designing and building an innovative submersible to take him to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. He made the voyage a few days ago with LED lights and HD cameras in tow, and now the first footage from his dive has gone online. Cameron’s adventure will be chronicled in the 3D documentary Deepest Challenge, but this first footage is pretty incredible. Cameron will no doubt be channeling some of his experiences into the Avatar sequels, which are said to delve into Pandora’s oceans, but fellow science nuts can join me in geeking out over the ramifications this dive will have in the scientific community.

Hit the jump to watch the video.

When you’re James Cameron, you get to do pretty much whatever you want. That’s why instead of working away like a madman on Avatar 2 and 3 in order to meet a studio deadline, Cameron is out doing fun, hobby stuff like trying to reach the ocean’s deepest point; you know, for giggles. The Titanic director is teaming up with the National Geographic Society and Rolex (naturally) to “conduct deep-ocean research and exploration to expand our knowledge and understanding of these largely unknown parts of the planet.” The Deepsea Challenge expedition will be filmed for a 3D documentary, and marks the first extensive scientific exploration by a manned vehicle of the Mariana Trench’s lowest point in the Pacific Ocean, nearly 7 miles beneath the ocean surface. Hit the jump for more on this endeavor.